Toilet bowl

ABSTRACT

A toilet bowl having an external opening located adjacent the upper end of the dividing partition that separates the upwardly flowing channel from the downwardly flowing channel of the siphon, that makes possible easy inspection and cleanout of both channels and the bend at the end of said partition, including a closure member conforming with the shape of said opening and insertable and securable in said opening for sealing the opening when the toilet bowl is in normal operation.

United States Patent Gray 1451 Aug. 8, 1972 l TOILET BOWL FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Inventor: Ethan G y, East Pueme 152,339 8/1921 Great Britain ..4/257 Street COVma Cahf- 91722 652,844 11/1937 Germany ..4/257 [22] Filed: Sept. 21, 1970 Primary ExaminerFrederick L. Matteson [21] Appl' 73964 Assistant Examiner-Henry K. Artis Attorney-Joseph F. Cuneo [52] US. Cl ..4/257, 4/69 [51] Int. Cl ..E03d 11/00 E0311 11/10 7 57 B C [58] Field of Search ..4/69, 257, 255, 295 l I -A toilet bowl having an external opening located ad- [56] References Cit d jacent the upper end of the dividing partition that separates the upwardly flowing channel from the UNITED STATES PATENTS downwardly flowing channel of the siphon, that makes 1,342,016 6/ 1920 Farris ..4/257 X possible easy inspection and cleanout of both channels 2,016,636 10/ 1935 Henn ..4/257 and the bend at the end of said partition, including a 1,265,248 5/1918 Reinhart et a1. ..4/257 closure member conforming with the shape of said 2,167,597 7/1939 Webb ..4/257 ing and inse -table and securable in said opening GlbSOn X for sealing the opening when the toilet is in nor- 1,287,042 12/ 19 l 8 Kennedy ..4/257 ma] operation 1,426,950 8/1922 Bellow ..4/257 1,827,663 10/ 1931 Mastrillo ..4/257 4 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures PNENTEDAUB 81972 31581. 791 saw 1% 2 v INVENTOR. 42 5mm A. GRAY BY 2 Q 44 nrromvzr PATENTEBAUB 81912 358L791 SHEEI 2 8F 2 INVENTOR. ETHAIV A. GRAY %.7CWF

ATTORNEY TOILET BOWL This invention relates to an improved toilet bowl construction for toilets of the type using water storage tanks as well as toilets using the force flush arrangements, and particularly to a bowl construction that permits easy access to the siphon portion of the bowl that draws the water from the bowl and transfers it to the sewer line connected to the toilet bowl.

Conventional toilet bowls utilize various types of siphon arrangements for flushing purposes. These are ordinarily located at either the front or the rear of the toilet bowl depending on the particular manufacturers design. The usual form of siphon comprises an upward flowing channel separated from the downward flowing channel by a dividing partition that is ordinarily a continuation of the bottom of the bowl well. The other side of the upwardly flowing channel is usually the wall of the bowl proper that commences at or near the upper end of the bowl well and continues to the upper portion of the bowl. The lower portion of the downwardly flowing channel is usually formed by the lower surface of the conduit that leads effluent after passing over the lip of the dividing partition into the floor connection to the sewer line. Serious difficulty is frequently encountered in the present types of toilet bowls whenever it is attempted to flush a large excess of paper, or when stiff paper, rags, or other non water soluble substances, for example small toys, sheets or blocks areplaced in the bowl or are accidentally dropped in by children and the toilet is flushed. All solid material flushed by the toilet has to make a substantially 180 turn at the end of the partition separating the upper from the lower siphon conduit and usually, the material, particularly solid blocks or toys become lodged either in the upwardly flowing channel or at the 180 turn. When this occurs the normal operation of the siphon is prevented and the water and other substances in the bowl will overflow whenever the toilet is flushed.

The only method that is usually successful in clearing a plugged siphon is by removing the obstruction be means of a so-called snake that attempts to hook the obstructing material and allows it to be withdrawn through the bowl entrance to the siphon. Where the trapped material is large and solid, such as a childs block or toy that has become tightly lodged in the uprising channel or at the 180 bend, it is nearly impossible to remove the plug with a snake and as a result it must be dissolved by some highly corrosive chemical or else the entire toilet bowl must be removed from the floor, turned upside down to allow the plugging substance to be dislodged so that it can be retrieved through the siphon entrance of the bowl. Such an operation is usually very messy, time consuming and ordinarily very costly.

A purpose of this invention is to provide a toilet bowl construction that will circumvent all of the above described difficulties by providing an inspection port in the outer wall of the toilet bowl positioned at an easily accessible place that permits easy access to all portions of the toilet siphon including the uprising and downwardly flowing conduits and the region surrounding the 180 bend.

A further purpose of this invention is to provide an easy and positive means for unplugging a stopped-up toilet without requiring the use of a snake, corrosive chemicals, or removal of the toilet fixture from its floor connection to the sewer line to invert the bowl.

Another purpose of this invention is to provide suitable closure members for the various access ports that will seal the opening and prevent leakage, yet are constructed so that they can be easily removed whenever inspection or cleaning of any portion of the siphon becomes necessary.

I overcome the difficulties presently encountered in all existing toilet bowls by providing the exterior wall of the bowl with a suitable access port whose lowest portion is preferably located at or close to the upper end of the partition that divides the u'pflowing the from the downflowing channel of the siphon. The access port may be positioned at either the front or the rear of the toilet bowl depending on the location of the siphon in the particular bowl construction. The access port may be located either in the end wall of the toilet bowl siphon or it may be located on one of the flat sides preferably just above the bend. The closure member seals the access port and prevents the escape of any fluid or other substance that may travel past it on its way to the sewer line.

The subject matter that is regarded as my invention is particularly pointed out and claimed in the concluding portions of this specification. The invention, as to its organization and operation, together with further purposes and advantages thereof will be best understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying illustrations in which:

FIG. 1 is a side plan .view of a conventional form of toilet bowl having the siphon located at the forward portion of the bowl; the important internal partitions, wall sections and channels, are shown by broken lines. The access port in this illustration is located on the right side near the front and is substantially rectangular in outline.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the toilet bowl construction shown in FIG. 1 and includes the drainage well and water inlet from the tank (not shown).

FIG. 3 shows one form of closure member for sealing the access port shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a front end plan view of a toilet bowl such as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, having the access port located in the forward end portion just. above the top of the siphon partition, the access opening being circular.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of one form of closure member suitable for sealing the circular opening of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of the closure member shown in FIG. 6, taken on the line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of an alternative construction suitable for the opening shown in FIG. 5.

FIGS. 9, 9A, and 9B show an exploded view of the closure member shown in FIG. 8 and taken from the side, with the clamp stops; the clamping T-bolt that engages the inner wall of the opening; and the tightening knob that tightens the T-bolt, respectively.

FIG. 10 is a bottom plan view of the closure member shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 shows an alternative form of closure device suitable for the rectangular opening shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view of the rectangular closure member shown in FIG. 1 1 and taken on the line 1212 ofFIG.11.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a conventional type of toilet bowl having a rear wall 11 the continues substantially vertically from the top of the bowl until it reaches the bottom of bowl well 12. Bowl well 12 continues forwardly at substantially the same level until the bottom wall rises at an obtuse angle and forms partition 13 which separates upwardly flowing channel 14 from downwardly flowing channel 15 of the toilet siphon. The entrance to upwardly flowing channel 14 through which water in the toilet bowl flows whenever the toilet is flushed is formed by gap 16 that lies between the bottom of bowl well 12 and the lower end of inner rising wall 17 that forms the principal portion of the inner bowl. The upper wall of downwardly flowing channel 15 is formed by the lower surface of partition 13 while the lower wall of channel 15 is formed by a partition 18. Channel 15 continues downwardly until it discharges into outlet opening 19 that is normally provided with outwardly projecting flange 20, that is embedded in a wax seal ring (not shown) when the toilet bowl is bolted to the floor.

Flushing water from a tank or other source (not shown) is introduced through opening 22 and distributed to the bowl proper by top annular channel 22a that is provided with downwardly directed orifices positioned around the bottom of the entire ring to wash down the inner wall of the bowl, and by tapering conduit 21 that discharges through opening 23, normally positioned on rear wall 11 of the bowl a short distance above the lowest level of bowl well 12. Lower wall 24 of conduit 21 separates conduit 21 from the lower portion of channel 15 in the toilet bowl construction shown in the drawings.

Adjacent end 25 of partition 13 there is provided on one of the flat outer side walls 26, the right wall in the drawings, an opening 27 that is rectangular and positioned so that the lower side of the opening is just above end 25 of partition 13. This permits easy access to both siphon channels 14 and 15. Preferably an outwardly extending flange 28 surrounds opening 27 and a smooth vertical surface on the flange insures a good seat for gasket 29. If desired the flange could be omitted, thethickness of the ceramic wall increased surrounding the opening and the surface of the ceramic surrounding the opening made substantially flat to properly seat gasket 29.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show one embodiment of a closure device for sealing opening 27. This device comprises an inner member 30 and an outer member 31 that have substantially the same width and length as the maximum dimensions of flange 2 8. The inner portion of each member 30 and 31 is reduced to form insert portions 32 and 33 that will fit into opening 27 when flanges 34 and 35 adjoining the respective insert member 32 and 33 are seated against the inner wall of the ceramic bowl surrounding opening 27 and against the outer surface of flange 28 respectively. Gasket 29 may be made out of cork, rubber, or other compressible elastomeric material and is inserted between flange 35 of member 31 and the surface of flange 28 that surrounds opening 27.

When assembled together, portions 32 and 33 of members 30 and 31 do not touch one another even when the members are at their closest position together and their flanges are in contact with the inner surface of the ceramic bowl and the outer surface of flange 28 respectively. Bolt 36 passes through clearance holes 37 and 38 in members 30 and 31 respectively and the parts are clamped together by threading the end of bolt 36 into a correspondingly threaded nut 39 that is embedded in member 30. When bolt 36 is fully threaded on nut 39, bolt head 40, that is larger than bore 38, will cause outer member 31 to squeeze gasket 29 against flange 28 while flange 34 of the inner member will engage the inner surface of wall 26 surrounding opening 27. This holds the closure member securely in place and prevents leakage.

Outer member 31 is provided with a recessed bore 41 that is larger in diameter than bolt head and extends a substantial distance into outer bore 31 to permit bolt head 40 a longer travel. This bore may be closed by cap 42 if desired. The opposite end of bolt 36 is provided with an upset 43 to prevent the bolt from becoming disengaged from the nut once it has been threaded on nut 39. The longer travel permits members 30 and 31 to be separated sufficiently to permit the inner member to be turned and withdrawn from opening 27 without completely separating members 30 and 31. This prevents any portion of the closure member from being dropped into the channels of the siphon. A tight fitting gasket 44 is placed on bolt 36 between members 30 and 31 to prevent leakage through clearance hole 38.

FIG. 5 shows a front view of a toilet bowl having a circular opening 45 located at the upper end of siphon channel 14, having an exterior flange 46, also circular. F IG. 6 shows one form of sealing device for this type of opening that comprises a circular closure member 47 adapted to fit into opening 45 and provided with a cir cular flange 48 that corresponds in diameter to the diameter of flange 46 of the bowl. This device is more clearly shown in the cross sectional view FIG. 7. Outer portion 49 of closure member 47 has a flange 48 that is substantially flat on its contact surface with the exception of an O-ring groove 50 which receives O-ring 51 made of resilient material such as rubber or other suitable elastomeric material.

The central portion of member 47 is dished to fonn a recess 52 against which the bottom 53 of tightening knob 54 rests. Knob 54 is bored from the outer end to permit free passage of threaded portion 55 of anchoring bolt 56. The lower or inside end of knob 54 is counterbored and formed to receive a nut 56 which is secured to the knob by any suitable means such as glueing or by moulding the knob around it. Anchoring bolt 56 is provided with laterally extending arms 58 and 59 that give it the form of a T-bolt. The overall length of arms 58 and 59 is substantially greater than the diameter of opening 45, and a gasket 60 tightly surrounds smooth portion 61 of bolt 56. When knob 54 is tightened by threading it on bolt 56 the ends of arms 58 and 59 will be brought in contact with the inner wall of the opening adjoining opening 45, and as the knob is tightened, O-ring 51 will be squeezed flat against flange 46 while gasket 60 will seal clearance bore 62 that permits passage of smooth portion 61 of the bolt. If desired a pair of stops 63 and 64 placed on opposite sides of a diameter on the back of inner portion 65 of member 47 will prevent rotation of the bolt as the knob is turned. A cap 66 may be employed to close the clearance bore of the knob if desired. Once the end of bolt 67 has been threaded into and through nut 57 it may be upset to prevent any part of the closure member from becoming separated.

FIGS. 8, 9, 9a, 9b, and are shown in the drawings to more clearly show the relationship of the various components of the closure. FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the closure member. FIGS. 9, 9a, 9b show the T-bolt, a side view of FIG. 8 and a side view of tightening knob 54. FIG. 10 shows the inner surface of a closure member in place in opening 45. Stops 63 and 64 are curved to permit the bolt to turn one way but not in the opposite direction as clearly shown. Since all parts of these embodiments are the same as those shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, the same numerical designations have been used.

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate an alternate form of the closure member shown in FIG. 1. The difference in this embodiment is that a T-bolt and knob arrangement similar to the one shown in FIG. 7, is employed and shows how this arrangement may be adapted to a rectangular opening. Insert portion 68 of rectangular sealing member 69 is provided with a pair of stops 70 and 71 mounted on the rear thereof and positioned to act as stops for arms 58 and 59 of the T-bolt and are positioned preferably at substantially the centerline of the insert portion so that the arms of the bolt will extend across the narrow side of the insert member. Stops 70 and 71 are curved at one end and terminate abruptly in a straight line at the opposite end; the straight portions of the stops are placed opposite to each other to effectively prevent rotation of the bolt head of T-bolt 56 when knob 54 is tightened. Flange 72 extends outwardly from sealing member 69 and rests against glazed flange surface of the projection extending outwardly that surrounds opening 27. A gasket 73 having a rectangular outline corresponding to flange 72 is placed between the surface of projecting flange 28 of the bowl and the inner surface of flange 72 to prevent leakage. A second gasket 74 fits snugly around the smooth portion of bolt 56 designated as 61 and is squeezed between the head of the bolt and the inner surface of insert portion 68 to prevent the escape of fluids around the bolt. In this embodiment the end of bolt 56 may also be upset to prevent separation of any of the elements once they have been assembled. A cap 66 may be used to cover the access opening in tightening knob 54.

While all of the descriptions above show that a flanged projecting rim 28 extends outwardly from the opening, it is also intended that the surface of the bowl adjoining the opening could be made without a flange if it were made smooth and level so that the various gaskets could properly seat on this surface.

The manner in which this improved construction operates is as follows: the closure member, whether it be circular or rectangular is installed in the opening and the gaskets tightly squeezed in contact with the surrounding flat surface to prevent leakage. The opening is positioned preferably just above the upper end of partition 13 so that the lower end of the opening will be just above the normal water line; no fluid will normally rest against the closure member when it is in this position and the toilet is not being flushed. This position furthermore provides easy access to upwardly flowing channel 14, downwardly flowing channel 15 and to the U-turn bend at the end of partition 13. Most stoppages occur at one of these points therefore if a stoppage should occur all the operator has to do is to wait for the water level to return to normal or in case of a severe plug, remove the water from the toilet bowl until it is below its normal level, remove the closure member from the opening, and physically displace and remove whatever is causing the stoppage. Once this has been done, the closure member is replaced and the toilet can once again be placed in operation. This is much simpler than trying to dissolve or snake out the obstruction form the passageways or in severe cases, actually removing the entire toilet bowl from the floor and turning it over to remove the obstructing plug when the above expedients fail. The gaskets when properly replaced will prevent any leakage.

The head of the 'bolt or the knob is preferably recessed into the closure member after it has been installed since in this construction it usually requires a special wrench to permit its removal. This prevents accidental loosening of the closure :member and protects it at all times from children. The end of the bolt is preferably upset once the nut has been fully threaded on the bolt to prevent anyone from disassembling the closure member elements and accidentally dropping any components into either one of the siphon channels making the closure member unusable.

While only two embodiments of the novel toilet bowl construction have been shown with alternative closure members and have been described in detail herein, it is intended to include various changes and further modifications that may be made without departing from the scope of this invention.

lclaim:

1. An improved toilet bowl construction comprising: a toilet bowl having a siphon at one end portion thereof said siphon being an internally located upwardly flowing channel and a downwardly flowing channel, said channels being separated by a partition; an external rectangular access opening provided on one of the external side portions of said bowl that is adjacent to the upper end of the dividing partition, the lower marginal edge of said opening being positioned just above the end of said partition, said opening being provided with a closure member comprising: an outer member having a portion insertable into said opening and having a flange corresponding in outline to the rectangular flat surface surrounding said opening; a T-shaped bolt having a pair of arms at the head portion thereof, the total length of the combined arms being substantially longer than the maximum dimension of said rectangular opening, the end portions of said arms being engageable by the internal wall surface surrounding said opening; a clearance hole symmetrically positioned on said outer member to permit passage of the threaded portion of said bolt; means engageable by the threads of said bolt for forcing the flange of said outer member against the external flat surface surrounding said opening when the arms of said bolt are in contact with the inner wall of said bowl surrounding said opening; and gasket means between the external flat surface of said bowl and the flange of said outer member.

2. An improved toilet bowl construction according to claim 1 wherein the insertable portion of said outer member is provided with stop means for preventing the rotation of said arms of said T-shaped bolt when said means engageable by the threads of said bolt is threaded on said bolt to clamp the flange and flat surface together.

3. An improved toilet bowl construction comprising: a toilet bowl having a siphon at one end portion thereof, said siphon being an internally located upwardly flowing channel and a downwardly flowing channel, said channels being separated by a partition; an external circular access opening provided on the end of said toilet bowl that is adjacent to the upper end of said channel separating partition, the lower marginal edge of said opening being just above the end of said partition, said opening being provided with a closure member comprising: an outer circular member having a portion insertable into said opening and having an annular flange corresponding in outline to the annular flat surface surrounding the outside of said opening; a T- shaped bolt having a pair of arms at the head portion thereof, the total length of the combined arms being substantially longer than the diameter of said circular opening, the end portions of said arms being engageable by the internal wall surrounding said opening; a clearance hole centrally positioned in the circular outer member to pemiit passage of the threaded portion of said bolt; means engageable by the threads of said bolt for forcing the flange of said outer member against the flat annular surface surrounding the outside of said opening when said arms of said bolt are in contact with the inner wall of the bowl surrounding said opening; and gasket means between said flange of the outer member and said flat annular surface surrounding said opening.

4. An improved toilet bowl construction according to claim 3 wherein the insertable portion of said outer member is provided with stop means for preventing the rotation of the arms of said T-shaped bolt when said means engageable by the threads of said bolt is threaded on said bolt to clamp the flange and flat surface together. 

1. An improved toilet bowl construction comprising: a toilet bowl having a siphon at one end portion thereof said siphOn being an internally located upwardly flowing channel and a downwardly flowing channel, said channels being separated by a partition; an external rectangular access opening provided on one of the external side portions of said bowl that is adjacent to the upper end of the dividing partition, the lower marginal edge of said opening being positioned just above the end of said partition, said opening being provided with a closure member comprising: an outer member having a portion insertable into said opening and having a flange corresponding in outline to the rectangular flat surface surrounding said opening; a T-shaped bolt having a pair of arms at the head portion thereof, the total length of the combined arms being substantially longer than the maximum dimension of said rectangular opening, the end portions of said arms being engageable by the internal wall surface surrounding said opening; a clearance hole symmetrically positioned on said outer member to permit passage of the threaded portion of said bolt; means engageable by the threads of said bolt for forcing the flange of said outer member against the external flat surface surrounding said opening when the arms of said bolt are in contact with the inner wall of said bowl surrounding said opening; and gasket means between the external flat surface of said bowl and the flange of said outer member.
 2. An improved toilet bowl construction according to claim 1 wherein the insertable portion of said outer member is provided with stop means for preventing the rotation of said arms of said T-shaped bolt when said means engageable by the threads of said bolt is threaded on said bolt to clamp the flange and flat surface together.
 3. An improved toilet bowl construction comprising: a toilet bowl having a siphon at one end portion thereof, said siphon being an internally located upwardly flowing channel and a downwardly flowing channel, said channels being separated by a partition; an external circular access opening provided on the end of said toilet bowl that is adjacent to the upper end of said channel separating partition, the lower marginal edge of said opening being just above the end of said partition, said opening being provided with a closure member comprising: an outer circular member having a portion insertable into said opening and having an annular flange corresponding in outline to the annular flat surface surrounding the outside of said opening; a T-shaped bolt having a pair of arms at the head portion thereof, the total length of the combined arms being substantially longer than the diameter of said circular opening, the end portions of said arms being engageable by the internal wall surrounding said opening; a clearance hole centrally positioned in the circular outer member to permit passage of the threaded portion of said bolt; means engageable by the threads of said bolt for forcing the flange of said outer member against the flat annular surface surrounding the outside of said opening when said arms of said bolt are in contact with the inner wall of the bowl surrounding said opening; and gasket means between said flange of the outer member and said flat annular surface surrounding said opening.
 4. An improved toilet bowl construction according to claim 3 wherein the insertable portion of said outer member is provided with stop means for preventing the rotation of the arms of said T-shaped bolt when said means engageable by the threads of said bolt is threaded on said bolt to clamp the flange and flat surface together. 